1. Chapter 14 – Edo Japan: A Closed Society
Unit 3 - Japan

2. Chapter 14 – Edo Japan: A Closed Society Overview
Worldview Inquiry: In what ways might a country’s choice to remain isolated both reflect its worldview and result from its worldview?
Aspects of Worldview Examined: Geography, Economy, Values
Sections: 1)Locking Out the World, 2) Changing with Isolation, 3) Cracks in the Foundation

3. Section 1 – Locking Out the World
Chapter 14 – Section 1

4. Section 1 – Locking Out the World Overview
Section Inquiry: Why and how did Japan isolate itself from the rest of the world?
Threats from the West
New Ways of Belief and Thought
Exploring Sources (pg 313): A New Way of Thinking
Cutting off Contact
Exceptions to the Exclusion Laws
Fast Forward: Closing Borders
Zoom In: Exchaning Worlds
Maintaining Rule in Japan

5. Section 1 – Locking Out the world
In the early 1500’s Japan had welcomed Portuguese traders and their fashion and firearms.
By 1848 their attitude towards outsiders had changed in that they were now firing on and driving away foreign ships
This early 17th century folding screen by an unknown artist records the arrival of exotic looking Portuguese merchants. If you were the shogun, how might you react to these foreigners?

6. A. Threats from the west
By the later 1500’s and early 1600’s the ruling shogun considered foreigners a threat to his military control because he believed that if the daimyo acquired European weapons they might try to challenge the shogun’s authority.

7. i) New ways of belief and thought
The shogun also felt that loyalty to a Christian god and the Church were threats to his authority.
In 1614 he ordered all Christian missionaries to leave the country. Churches were destroyed and any Japanese Christians who refused to give up their new faith faced execution.
The persecution lasted until 1640 and it is estimated that many thousand Japanese Christians and about 70 missionaries were executed.
Many daimyo ordered to give up their new religion did so but many ronin and peasants were defiant to these orders.

8. B. Cutting off contact
Even though missionaries were banned from Japan they continued to sneak in as traders.
As a result, Tokugawa Iemitsu passed isolation (exclusion) laws.
The penalty for breaking these laws was death.

9. b. Cutting off contact – exclusion laws
Five terms of exclusion laws:
All Christian missionaries and foreign traders were forced to leave Japan. Newcomers were no longer allowed to enter.
The Japanese were not allowed to go abroad.
Ships large enough to make long voyagers could no longer be built and existing ones were destroyed.
Japanese who were out of the country were forbidden to return.
Most foreign objects were forbidden. All foreign books book containing a Christian message were banned; scientific books were forbidden.

10. b. Cutting off contact
The shogunate also tightened controls on people’s movement within Japan.
They needed special documents to move around the country, could not travel at night, and all wheeled transportation was banned.
In 1639 the shogun expelled all foreign traders except Dutch, Korean, and Chinese traders.
The shogunate saw this policy as essential for national security and the only way to eliminate threats to his power and protect Japanese culture.

11. b. Cutting off contact
This woodblock print called Sueyoshi’s Junk was created in
Before Japan became a closed society, ships like this one were used to trade with Asian countries.
Why were vessels like this later destroyed?

12. i) Exceptions to the exclusion laws
While all other Europeans were expelled from Japan a small number of Dutch traders were allowed to remain because they were more interested in trade and not religion.
However there were many rules:
They could only allowed to be in the city of Nagasaki
The Dutch families could not travel with them
They were not allowed to speak to their Japanese servants
Once a year they had to travel to Edo to pay their respects to the shogun and answer his questions about the west.
What does the traveling to Edo remind you of?

13. This 1804 image by an unknown artist is called Deshima off Nagasaki
This 1804 image by an unknown artist is called Deshima off Nagasaki. The Dutch were confined on this tiny island in Nagasaki harbour, with guards stationed at the bridge and police spies planted among them. What details in this painting identify this location as the Dutch settlement at Nagasaki?

14. i) Exceptions to the exclusion laws
The shogun also had a small group of Japanese scholars, called the Dutch scholars, learn about Dutch medicine and language and the western ways.
There was some positive response to western studies in the 1700s:
Western books were allowed to be brought in if they didn’t discuss Christianity
The shogun ordered the study of astronomy and built and observatory.
The shogun did not expose these new teachings to regular people though because he was concerned that the new ideas would confuse them and make them forget that they owed absolute loyalty to him.

15. ii) Fast forward: closing borders
In the past many countries have been forced to close their borders due to security threats.
On September 11, 2001 after the hijacking of two planes by terrorists the US closed their borders and no boats could dock, no planes could land, and no one could drive into the country.
These were drastic measures but readily accepted by the people, how do you explain this?
When the United States sealed its borders, long line-ups of cars and trucks carrying trade goods were stopped at the Canadian border.

16. c. Maintaining rule in japan
During all the exclusion Japan maintained their feudal system with an economy tied to agriculture and a very strict and rigid social structure.
The shogun was determined to prove that Japan was strong and his rule was strong.

17. Section 2 – Changing Within Isolation
Chapter 14 – Section 2

18. Section 2 – Changing within isolation overview
Section Inquiry: In what ways did isolation lead to political, economic, and social changes in Japanese society?
Attitudes Toward Change
Toward an Ideal Society
The Influence of the Shogun
A Booming Economy
Zoom In: Conserving and Managing Resources
Voices: What Makes a Society Civilized?
A Golden Age of Culture
The Floating Worlds

19. a. Attitudes toward change
Japan was a stable society that had changed little in 250 years.
The interactions within the country had helped establish its own kind of society.

20. i) Toward an ideal society
The Japanese wanted to live in a society that embodied things they found important:
Peace, safety, and security
Harmony, respect, and a sense that everyone has his or her place
Leisure time and opportunities for personal expression and enjoyment of the arts, sports, and entertainment or crafts.
Peace and security came at a cost though, life was controlled by rigid rules, people could not move from social classes, were not encouraged to think for themselves and there was little personal freedom.

21. ii) Influence of the shogun
Not all threats to peace and order came from outside the country’s borders.
Crime disrupts life but in Japan the social controls and threat of harsh punishment discouraged this kind of behaviour.

22. ii) Influence of the shogun
In Japan, police boxes, or kobans, are located in every neighborhood.
Officers at these mini police stations give directions and help citizens with accidents, theft, and other emergencies.
How do you think the constant presence of law enforcement might affect the behaviour of Japanese people?

23. b. A booming economy
Long periods of stability usually result in more wealth for a country.
Farmers increased production by irrigation and growing two crops on the same piece of land during one growing season.
Road improvements financed by the daimyo helped increase trade.
The population increased in urban centres.
Silver and gold coins were introduced as currency or money.
However little foreign trade and continued use of rice as payment held the economy back.

24. b. A booming economy
This18thcenturyimagebyanunkn ownartist is called Sado Gold Mine.
It shows gold coins being stamped and weighed.
After centuries of an economy based on rice, what challenges might people face in switching to a money economy?

25. i) Zoom in: conserving and managing resources
Since there was little trade with foreign countries Japan had to rely on their own resources. T
hey used their vast forests to build buildings and to heat home and cook.
Cutting forests led to soil erosion and floods which caused famines.
After a large fire in 1657 more wood was needed to rebuild and the shogun ordered conservation woodland management.
Japan was the first society to learn how to scientifically replant forests from seedlings.

26. ii) voices: What makes a society civilized?
Lord Elgin: Japan is Civilized
Commodore Perry: Japan is Uncivilized
Commodore Perry, the first American to arrive in Japan, wrote in his journal that the Japanese were a “singular [remarkable] and isolated people.”
However, he went on to say that the Japanese still hadn’t joined “the family of civilized nations.”

27. c. A Golden Age of culture
As a direct result of peace and prosperity the arts and culture were able to flourish.

28. c. A Golden Age of culture
Kabuki, shown here, is a form of theatre.
Male actors played both male and female roles.
The productions are lavish and some- times violent.
What other society do you know of that restricted theatrical roles to males only?

29. c. A Golden Age of culture
The purpose of the rituals of the Japanese tea ceremony is to bring enjoyment and peace of mind to the participants.
Can you think of other rituals with these aims?

30. c. A Golden Age of culture
Sumo wrestling originated in ancient times as a religious performance.
It became a popular form of entertainment in Edo Japan as shown in this 1864 print by Kunitsuna Utagawa.
What other sports do you know of that had religious or spiritual beginnings?

31. c. A Golden Age of culture
Haiku was a new poetry form in the Edo period.
The formal structure of syllables paints a brief word picture that offers insight into life.
What is the format of a haiku?

32. c. A Golden Age of culture
In puppet theatre, or bunraku, large—almost life- sized— puppets enact the ordeals of separated lovers or duelling samurai.

33. c. A Golden Age of culture
This woodblock print was done in the early 18th century by Torii Kiyomasu.
It is called Street vendor of illustrated books.
About half of the male population could read—a higher literacy rate than in most European countries of the time.
Why do you think literacy rates are historically limited to male readers?

34. c. A Golden Age of culture
During the peace and prosperity of the Edo period, the emphasis of Japanese martial arts, such as kendo, shifted from teaching the techniques of how to kill people to developing the person, especially the samurai, through a well-disciplined life.

35. c. A Golden Age of culture
The Japanese used woodblock prints to advertise as shown in this 19th century kabuki poster.
These advertisements were often outstanding works of art themselves.
Do you consider advertisements today works of art? Why or why not?

36. i) The floating worlds
Cultural activities like kabuki and noh took place in areas called the floating world.
There the rules and controls of Tokugawa society were relaxed.
Men could temporarily unwind and enjoy themselves once they had fulfilled their duties to occupation and family.
The shogun tried to suppress the theater but instead of closing the businesses the authorities kept the entertainment districts under surveillance.

37. Section 3 – Cracks in the Foundation
Chapter 14 – Section 3

38. Section 3 – cracks in the foundation overview
Section Inquiry: How did isolation contribute to the end of Japan’s closed, feudal society?
Zoom In: A Global Language
Changes Within Japan
The Class System in Upheaval
Disasters and Hard Times
Voices: Catfish and Commodores
The Expansionist Threat from Outside
Voices: Views from the West

39. i) Zoom in: A global Langauge
Some argue that English has become the global language.
Media and the globalization of trade have contributed to the position of English worldwide.
During the Edo period the Japanese language changed very little but now Japanese is full of terms adopted from other languages.

40. a. Changes within japan
Japan’s feudal society had been created during a time of conflict and poverty and was becoming out-dated.

41. i) The class system upheaved
Toward the end of the Edo period merchants gained wealth and power because more people needed their services. They were in charge of storing the rice and converting it into cash or credit.
Peasants needed money to pay their taxes, the daimyo were spending all their money on alternate attendance and road construction and were nearing bankruptcy.
The samurais had no real jobs and some went against social rules by marrying merchants daughters.
Everyone was looking for someone to blame and that was usually the shogun and his extravagant officials. People though the emperor should have the power and not the shogun.

42. ii) Disasters and hard times
In the late 1700’s and early 1800s many natural disasters struck Japan which brought about famine and took many lives.
People fled to the cities, the price of rice rose steeply and there were many riots over the way the shogun was handling the situation.
What is another instance we learned about when people fled due to a natural disaster – Black Plague. What was the result of this?

43. b. The expansionist threat from outside
By the early 1800s many nations wanted to trade with Japan or at least get supplies for their passing ships. The shogun responded by saying the following in his “No Second Thought Expulsion Order”:

44. b. The expansionist threat from outside
The reasons for the United States’ interest in Japan were largely based on geography or economics, or both.
Were these reasons enough for the United States to try to force its way into Japan, to break open a country that had declared itself closed to most Western countries for more than 200 years?

45. i) Voices: views from the west
The West thought than Japan secluding themselves was wrong.
This excerpt is from a British newspaper and is based on the rights of the Japanese.

46. i) voices: Views from the west
This view is from Commodore Perry and focuses on economics.
When Perry arrived in Japan in 1853, he carried a letter from the American president that said, in part:
Our great State of California produces about sixty millions of dollars in gold every year, besides silver, quicksilver, precious stones, and many other valuable articles. Japan is also a rich and fertile country, and produces many very valuable articles. Your imperial majesty’s subjects are skilled in many of the arts. I am desirous that our two countries should trade witheach other, for the benefit both of Japan and the United States If your imperial majesty is not satisfied that it would be safe altogether to abrogate [ignore] the ancient laws which forbid foreign trade, they might be suspended for five or ten years, so as to try the experiment.If it does not prove as beneficial as was hoped, the ancient laws can be restored. The United States often limit treaties with foreign States to a few years, and then renew them or not, as they please.